VIGAN CITY, Ilocos Sur (PIA) — Known by Filipinos as the country’s national animal, the Philippine carabao also offers value outside of the rice fields.
Various carabao businesses, such as livestock reproduction or breeding and milking, were showcased during the 10th National Carabao Conference (NCC) conducted by the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) on November 13 to 15 at the Nueva Segovia Consortium of Cooperatives in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur.
The NCC is an annual event gathering cooperatives from across the country to share and learn knowledge, initiatives, and best practices to develop the carabao industry, highlighting meaningful partnerships between the local government and private organizations.
Up to 400 delegates from 64 cooperatives from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao that have each progressed due to buffalo business programs enjoyed the three-day convention.
Ilocos Sur Governor Jeremias Singson, PCC Director Liza Battad, National Dairy Authority Administrator Atty. Marcus Antonius Andaya, and DA Undersecretary for Livestock Deogracias Victor Savellano joined the activity.
In his message, Savellano said, “There is really a long way to go, but I know we can achieve a lot when we work together and unite. On behalf of the DA, I would like to take this opportunity to honor the farmers.”
“We cannot belittle the sacrifice you made as farmers—you are one of the foundations of our local production of meat, livestock, and milk, so we want to extend our gratitude with our sincere hearts,” he said.
Masdi Hasem from Ipil Community Multi-purpose Cooperative in Zamboanga Sibugay said, “The travel is quite far, but we value this conference so much because we learn a lot from here—we can increase our knowledge of buffalo products [which] we will also share with the farmers when we get home.”
He went on to commend the program of the DA-PCC, and mentioned that he is thankful for the learnings, which helped them increase their income from a small community to now a multi-millionaire cooperative.
“With their support, we can also give back to the community through our community development fund—we provide medical outreach, community outreach, and school supplies during the beginning of the school year,” Hasem shared.
Moreover, the Suyo Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Ilocos Sur received 50 buffalos from the Expanded Accelerating Livelihood Assets Buildup (ALAB) Karbawan project of the DA-PCC.
The ALAB Karbawan project is the umbrella name for its two other programs, the Carabao-based Business Improvement Network (CBIN) and Coconut-Carabao Development Project (CCDN), which were launched and funded by the Office of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform.
It aims to establish robust carabao-based enterprises in identified provinces, thereby creating livelihoods for farmers.
It will kick-start the development of the dairy sector in the province through herd buildup of genetically improved dairy carabaos, provision of processing equipment and supplies, establishment of market outlets, and continuous provision of capacity-building activities and support services.
Federico Valdez, one of the members, said, “We are thankful to PCC because it can provide many benefits, like milking business, and we can also provide milk-feeding to children and communities in need.”
He also mentioned that he hopes that their cooperative can grow further through this initiative of the DA-PCC. (AMB/ATV, PIA Ilocos Sur)
